The Priestess
by Luinlothana
Summary: Sometimes your past can catch up on you when you least expect it. And when it does there is no telling what the consequences might be. Warning: currently on hold


Disclaimer: The fact that owners of rights to Forgotten Realms characters and everything connected to them don't tend to write fanfics is known rather widely. Therefore I don't see a special need to assure you that I am not in possession of those rights. But just in case someone thinks it's not clear enough - I'm as much of an owner of Forgotten Realms rights as I am an owner of Alpha Centauri. And I don't own Alpha Centauri in case you are interested.

A/N:This is one of the first stories I've written so there might be a few stumbles in it that I haven't noticed. I hope you would be generous enough to either overlook them or let me know about them.

The Priestess

"They say that another caravan has been attacked by Yetis this month. We just have to do something about it or the merchants won't come here anymore," said Bruenor.

"Suggesting another hunt, aren't you?" Drizzt smiled looking at his friend.

"Not that I'm saying that we aren't having any fun staying here, but some good exercise..." the dwarf started explaining and suddenly stopped when, due to the elf's laugh he realized that there was no need for him to do it.

"I suggest leaving in two hours, before they have time to think of escaping us," said the drow.

"I'm gonna tell Catti-brie to be ready in an hour." Bruenor informed. "When I do she _might_ be ready on time." He added smiling to his friend.

Before he had chance to go out of the room there was a short, high-pitched scream somewhere outside. They got there hardly noticing anything on the way between the two places only to find Cattie-brie, sitting on the ground, muttering words that young women usually don't even know, let alone use.

"I think I've twisted my ankle." She said through gritted teeth, which seemed to have much more to do with the situation itself than any pain caused by the injury. "I was running home as I wanted to tell Stumpet that I've found the plant she's been looking for, for the last two weeks, and I haven't noticed a hole in the ground."

"So I guess it'll be just the two of us this time" Bruenor said while Drizzt, whose size was closer to Catti's was helping her walk to her room.

"On second thought, I think I can do well enough. I don't think my leg is really that hurt." Catti-brie was beginning to understand that she was going to miss something.

She tried to walk on her own, putting the usual weight on her injured leg. And didn't fall down only thanks to Drizzt's quick reaction.

"Or maybe you will just tell me if you two had fun and promise to take me next time." She allowed in defeat.

III

They left as soon as they were ready but by the time they got to the critical area they found only one small group of Yetis. It was nearly sunset when they heard a sudden commotion somewhere in the woods.

When they got there, they found a group of five Verbeegs massacring a huge group of Yetis.

"Rivals. I hate rivals. They are spoiling the fun," Bruenor said quietly, but apparently not quietly enough. One of the creatures must have heard him and in a few seconds all five were charging at them.

"Going to be fun anyway if that cheers you up," said the drow drawing his scimitars. "Who's calling dibs on the first one?"

In the next few seconds Verbeegs had an opportunity to learn the last lesson in they life.

Drizzt might have been different from his race but one thing stayed the same - if you attack drow with intention of killing him you can be sure you'll lose your life first.

At first the fight didn't seem to be difficult to neither of the friends but then at one moment Bruenor found his axe trapped in a Verbeeg's leg while the Verbeeg attacked him with a heavy sharpened stick.

He felt a sudden strike of pain in his chest but he ignored it. He managed to free his weapon and swung it as he jumped effectively cutting the Verbeeg's throat. In that very moment he realised that he couldn't breathe and that his blood started to very quickly fill his mouth.

The last Verbeeg fell but the dwarf did as well. He landed on the ground in a position that caused a great worry in heart of the approaching dark elf.

The drow ran the last few steps with a look of panic rising in his eyes as he got a closer look at his friend.

"Bruenor!"

Although the dwarf was breathing with a great difficulty, he was obviously still conscious as he managed to open his eyes. He tried to say something but blood that was filling his mouth prevented it. In the end, using what was left of his strength, he managed a whisper.

"Dri.zzt."

"I am here, my friend." Said the elf trying to stop his tears. "I'm with you."

The dwarf wanted to say something more but he found it impossible when the blood seemed to have filled his mouth completely and the darkness came over him.

The elf realized in a sudden terror that his friend's hand, he was holding, is inert now. In a few moments that would not matter for his friend though and there was no real chance of him waking to discover the fact anyway.

Another silent tear ran down the ebony cheek.

"If there only was a way to help you, my friend." Drizzt's voice faltered.

"Actually, I believe that there is a way." he heard a voice behind him.

He didn't turn around for a moment being so absorbed by the worry about his friend that he didn't care about his own safety. That moment was enough for him to realize three important issues: the voice was speaking in the language of the drow, undoubtedly belonged to a woman and somehow sounded familiar, although Drizzt couldn't remember precisely where he knew it from. All in all, it couldn't promise anything optimistic.

Then Drizzt suddenly realized the meaning of what the voice have just said.

Nearly unwittingly he replied in the language of the drow, wanting to make sure that what he had heard wasn't just an illusion.

"What did you say?"

As he was saying those words he turned a bit, wanting to see to whom he was talking to. From all the dangers he had ever came across keeping a drow behind your back was definitely on the top of the list, proverbs be damned.

"Is this the way to speak to the high priestess of one of the ruling houses, Drizzt Daermon N'A'Shezbaernon?" asked the woman, whose look had woken some unclear memories in Drizzt's head.

Suddenly a few memories of his childhood came to his mind and gave him an idea of whom the speaker might be. He could only hope that his suspicions were right. No priestess ever tolerated mistakes.

"Please forgive me, Gurithinis Ashn'Varaentan," he said realizing that the female came closer and was standing now only three steps away from him, hidden from the light of the setting sun in the shadows of the trees.

She was dressed in black clothes with embroidered violet web motives. Drizzt could only guess how they might look in infravision. His thoughts came back to his friend though and knew that it wasn't a time for such deliberations.

"I am under impression, _jabbress_, that you have mentioned, that you know of a way to help my friend. If indeed..." He broke off, fearing what the reaction of the priestess might be.

"Aren't you interested what price you will pay for that?" Gurithinis asked and, possibly, nearly smiled.

Drizzt was desperate. He couldn't rule out that she will ask him to sacrifice his life but if there was only a slightest chance to save his friend, he could not ignore it.

"No matter what the price will be, I am ready to pay it" He said with determination.

Now there could be no doubt that the priestess smiled but to Drizzt's surprise it wasn't the malicious smile appearing so often on the faces of priestesses in Menzoberranzan. That confused him.

"You'd better move away." She said in a voice informing that any discussion is out of question.

Drizzt considered about how wise it would be to protest or to ask any questions. Not at all - he decided. The priestess though was either reading his mind or, which was less possible, felt that an explanation was needed because she spoke again.

"He had broken his spine. I know a spell that can help him but you have to move if you want me to cast it before it's too late. And pray to whatever-your-god-is-now for him to stay unconscious"

Drizzt's surprised look told her more than any question could. His astonishment only grew when she offered another explanation.

"As I have just said, he has his spine broken. It means that a regeneration of nerve cells is necessary. It's painful enough that if it didn't require so much energy it would be the most popular torture ever. He won't feel that however as long as he is unconscious. It won't be possible to stop the spell after it starts without harming him and there is no possible way to minimize the pain."

In the look in woman's eyes was something Drizzt would never expect, he was afraid though to specify it let alone search for a reason for it.

He couldn't have seen a sympathy in her eyes.

He moved though, knowing, that it can be the only chance his friend had.

Gurithinis started incanting the spell and Drizzt, still extremely worried about his friend, got lost in thought.

He had met Gurithinis Ashn'Varaentan. He remembered it clearly enough now, although it had happened a long time ago in times he didn't remember very clearly in general.

He had been very young then, still long before he was sent to the Academy. From time to time he had managed to get out of home secretly to see Narbondel or to look at the other wonders of Menzoberranzan, the cruelty of which he hadn't realized yet.

Once, during a trip like that he met a girl, a bit older than him, who tripped blinded by an attempt to lighten a statue by some dilettante wizard. The girl had nearly fallen but Drizzt had managed to catch her. Then, against everything Vierna had ever taught him he had spoken to her.

He had found out then that she had been the second daughter of matron Ra'richath of the house Ashn'Varaentan. The memories about her were distant and foggy but from what Drizzt could remember he had discovered that Gurithinis had had soul if not akin to his own then also differing from those of other drow.

He had met her a few more times during his secret trips. They exchanged a few words at times which gave him a feeling of great importance and at the same time the sweet taste of the forbidden. Once he had helped the girl to find her spider pendant - its loss would have made her mother very angry - it had appeared that she wasn't allowed to go alone on the walks either.

Then again, Drizzt had had to fight hard to keep his identity during ten years in Academy and it had been a hard task to achieve. How big was the possibility, that Gurithinis, even if they really had had akin souls, survived the Arach -Tinilith with her soul unharmed? How could it be possible for a priestess, most obviously in favour of Lloth, to keep at the same time even a bit of her innocence and outlook so close to his own? But could the sparkle in her green eyes have been nothing but illusion, reflection of something he wanted to see?

The elf had to stop his contemplations as in that very moment the body of unconscious Bruenor was surrounded by a strange yellow light and was raised about a meter above the ground.

The drow heard an unpleasant crunch when his friends spine came back to its normal form. He also noticed, that the deep wounds, including the one that penetrated dwarfs lung started closing - they were no deeper now than ones that could be caused by a whip.

Then Drizzt heard another thing that caused both hope and worry in his heart - his friend moaned, which was probably a sign that he is beginning to regain his consciousness. After a few seconds the first signs that he can feel the pain the priestess had told about appeared on the dwarf's face.

"He is waking." he said aloud, realizing at the same moment how pointless it was to say that.

Even if the drow were a race more inclined to empathy than the stones surrounding their world, Gurithinis made it quite clear that she couldn't stop the spell.

"How much longer is it going to take?" he asked again before he had a chance to think about possible consequences of his impatience and the fact, that the priestess was busy with the spell and unable to answer.

He looked at Bruenor with a great sympathy knowing, that he can't even come closer to his friend, let alone hold his hand offering some comfort.

"Hold on, my friend, it won't be long now, you can make it!" he said quietly to Bruenor, unwittingly still using the language of the drow.

III

Bruenor regained consciousness and the first thing his mind registered was a horrendous pain that seemed to grow stronger every second. When he managed, not without difficulties, to open his eyes if only a bit, the scene he saw most definitely didn't cheer him up.

A few steps from him stood a female drow dressed in black, with long hair moving on the waves of her magic. The dwarf could not see very clearly but from what he saw she was casting some spell, on him obviously, he realised taking under consideration that he was hovering above the ground unable to move.

About two steps away from him he noticed another drow, male this time, whom he had at first taken for Drizzt. However after he hadn't done anything to help him and than he spoke to him in the language of the drow, when his friend knew both common and dwarfish, Bruenor wasn't all that sure about the identity of the drow anymore.

The dwarf made an effort, ignoring the pain, to concentrate his sight enough to see the colour of the drow's eyes but he never succeed.

Full of growing fears Bruenor had fallen into darkness again.

III

While Gurithinis was ending the spell Drizzt remembered one more thing. Zaknafein mentioned once that he had a brother, who was briefly taken for a patron of house Ashn'Varaentan. When Drizzt looked closer at Gurithinis he noticed some resemblance between her and Vierna, Zaknafein, even himself.

Was it possible, that the high priestess of the house Ashn'Varaentan was his cousin? And had she even known about the possibility?

He was yanked out of his thoughts by the voice of Gurithinis.

"He has lost his consciousness again, to his own profit actually." She said concretely enough to switch Drizzt to more down to earth thoughts "I don't have enough power at the moment to heal all the wounds at once but I've reduced them so none of them endangers his life now. The spell regenerating his spine had already done most of its job but it has to work for a few more days to give him back full eukinesia and he shouldn't move too much during that time for his own good"

Gurithinis intoned another spell, short one this time, causing delicate threads, looking very much like made of spider silk, to appear, fly to Bruenor and plate, covering his wounds with light bandages.

"He might feel pain for some more time as the effect of the spells echo." The priestess was speaking coolly as if casting a spell during conversation was as normal as taking a breath. "Rather unpleasant but on the other hand it will make him think twice before moving."

During her monologue Drizzt couldn't help a feeling that the priestess is trying to avoid the moment when she would have to speak with him about something else. Seeing that his friend's life wasn't endangered now, the drow immersed himself in his memories for a moment again. Memories about Gurithinis Ashn'Varaentan, that were becoming more clear now.

He recalled, that the girl had nicknamed him Shanthreisol - Amethyst-eyed and had been always using this nickname while speaking to him. Then he suddenly recalled one more thing, that showed him that the priestess might be aware of the possibility of them being relatives.

Once, when their patrol had been coming back from the wild territories of Underdark a slave had approached him and Dinin with a message stating "Gurithinis Ashn'Varaentan, daughter of matron Ra'richath Ashn'Varaentan and patron Zirtan Ashn'Varaentan brings you, in the name of her house, congratulations for the house Daermon N'A'Shezbaernon for having such great warriors in the family."

They had been quite surprised by the message, especially considering that Gurithinis mentioned her father in it even though he meant nothing in Menzoberranzan. Now it came to Drizzt's mind that she possibly had done it on purpose. She might had wanted to give him an information that they were cousins. Were that to be truth he felt he should be really ashamed for his poor deduction. But even if it was a fact, such relations would mean nothing to a drow, follower of Lloth, so Drizzt started to wonder what the price for saving his friend was going to be.

In that exact moment he realised that the priestess was looking at him.

Instantly he started to worry that he had gone so deep in his thoughts that he hadn't heard Gurithinis saying something, which in turn would probably make her mad. And mad Lloth priestess wasn't something he would wish on his worst enemy.

His worries were gone though as soon as she spoke.

"I was wondering" she said, again coming closer to an explanation than it could be expected from a drow priestess "If you were to transport him home, or whatever you call the place you came here from, it'd take too much time and be too difficult since he needs to rest now. And it will take a while for all his wounds to heal without any magical support. I also don't know if dwarven immunity to magic won't neutralise the regenerating spell before it finishes working. Any ideas, Shanthreisol?"

Drizzt twitched hearing that. If it seemed something wasn't exactly right, casting a shadow o an image of a perfect priestess of Lloth, now grew to the image being broken into tiny pieces by a sudden vision of a priestess explaining her own deeds, thinking about others and asking male for some advise.

Drizzt started to wonder how much of what he had heard could be acting. Gurithinis knew enough about him to stage something like that. Taking under consideration who she was she could even be capable of organising the attack of verbeegs.

But then there was something sincere in her voice and Drizzt desperately wanted to believe that he could follow that trail, that Gurithinis hadn't changed since the times when she became his first, and for a longest time only, friend.

He knew though how slim the chances for that were and how big risk followed believing in that and trusting her. But she hadn't yet done anything that would give him a reason not to trust her.

"As far as I remember there is a cave within five minutes walk from here. I think I'll manage to take him there." Drizzt decided to take the risk one more time, ready to give his life for his friend were everything to appear to be a trap. "And I'd be honoured if you went with us. Of course if there is something more important..."

"No" she interrupted him in a way that made him start considering if he had made a wise decision "I'll go with you. Just show me the way."


End file.
